


you snuck your way right into my heart

by atomicnumber79



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Guardian Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Marichat May 2020, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, attempt on angst, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:46:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23959402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atomicnumber79/pseuds/atomicnumber79
Summary: An accident brought Marinette to the future, she started to see that she doesn't want to grow up to be this... cold.It's 13 Going on 30 AU no one asked for but I really wanted to write for Marichat May 2020.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 13
Kudos: 62





	1. Witch AU

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Welcome to my first fanfic for this fandom! I would like to thank you for taking the time to check this out!

The Akuma wasn't relentless. And she didn't say it was easy either; Nothing is easy when you're a superhero battling pawns of a cowardly supervillain.

But school, on the other hand, is down right ruthless. It was supposed to be her day to day struggle as a normal teenager, right? But no, she doesn't have that privilege of normalcy because safety of Paris had replaced school in her priority list. 

She got left behind in some classes because she disappeared from time to time, or slept in the middle of the class. This cycle got worse once she became a guardian. Her parents started to ground her a lot, and it became a lot more painful to see the disappointment in their eyes.

She had swallowed her sorrow for months now, not knowing how to handle it. She doesn't know what started the rippling effect that changed her life into something more of a hell. But she knew who made it worse. Herself.

The aforementioned Akuma was defeated, and before she could leap to bug herself out, Chat interrupted her.

"My Lady, that was my last aquatic power up supply." He gestured the air.

Marinette took a long time to understand the meaning behind his words—she blamed sleep deprivation—the Cat Boy began to squirm in discomfort.

"Sure, I'll have it in tomorrow's patrol," She nodded, getting ready to bound off the roof they were on, before he startled her once again with his plea.

"You know it will be easier if—"

"I told you, no." Marinette would later cry in her pillow because her tone was far from nice to her partner; She seethed with eyes squinted at him, containing rage that sprouted off from nowhere.

"You never listen—" Her voice wavers. She ducked her head and stared at her clenched fist. "If you could just grow up! And understand—" She halted herself. Why was she yelling? What's the point of it? She looked up to see something that would be burned in her mind for quite sometimes.

The pain in Chat Noir's face. Even with the mask, she could see his eyes glisten with tears. That was her fault. She realizes her mistake.

She hadn't even considered what life was for Chat. She doesn't even know his side of the story. She was too focused on herself and now she had hurted him.

"Yeah, you're right, Ladybug. Nevermind. See you later." He said it in a rush.

"Chat—Wait!"

But he was already gone, leaving her alone with the company of cold night winds.

* * *

She doesn't even know how she got there, maybe with the help of Tikki, or maybe it was simply a muscle memory. She dropped down to her loft bed, pulling out the copy of once stolen grimoire and the miraculous capsule from a secret safe behind the hollowed brick wall of her headboard, and started looking for the power up recipe, reading them through her tears.

The capsule was opened, unleashing Kwamis who roamed her room like it's their own personal playground. She usually made sure to keep her eyes on them when they do this, making her feel less alone than she would be. This time though, she ignored them in favor to focus on the recipe.

Stepping down from her loft, she reached her basin-vanity where she kept some of Master Fu's resources. She eventually had to head down to his Massage Parlor for the rest—but for now what she has in her possession had to suffice. It's gonna be a trial run anyway. She had not had time to concoct her own supplies.

Setting up a bunsen burner near her basin and a small cauldron, she felt like a witch in those storybooks.

She was aware a kwami or two are hovering near her, one even plopped themselves on top of her hair. She giggled, despite her current state of despair. She reached to find Fluff, the time kwami nuzzled on her palm.

"What are you doing Marinette?" She asked in her own brand of curiosity, watching her with her big eyes, as Marinette scanned her cabinet for dried beetle dust.

"I'm trying to make power ups." She fetched it, once she caught the sight of the jar with "crushed beetle" labeled on it.

"Oh!! I can see that can I? Will that be fine?" The white kwami zipped up and down in excitement. Marinette calmly chuckled and shook her head, still struggling to open the jar.

"Hmm, I don't think so. But I'll let you try it out." Marinette had to make sure the time kwami steered away from the cauldron. But her mind is occupied with the jar.

"That's fine I guess! But I want to know the recipe! Power ups are yummy for me!" 

And something happened outside of her control, when Fluff floats above the cauldron as Marinette hand finally succeeded overwhelming the jar's cap; beetle dust poofed out as the container went flying out of her hand, and it covered her basin, the heated cauldron, and the time kwami herself.

At first, Marinette wanted to sigh in relief because it doesn't change anything. Magic is tricky. And so is making potions for magical beings. But Fluff sneezed, and then she felt the ground beneath her turned into a puddle, or maybe it was her feet.

The last thing she heard was multiple small voices of tiny gods calling her and the time kwami's name.

* * *

She woke up to a room, but it wasn't hers. And there's something wrapped around her middle, and a warmth pressed to her back. And she realized there are also breaths on the nape of her neck.

She almost shrieked if not for the fact that she knew something had happened to her—she is also very much clothed, unlike the body flushed to her back—and the fact that the hand wrapped around her stomach is donning a miraculous she had entrusted to somebody once.


	2. Time Travel

Marinette shrieks anyway, when the shock faded and she realized that—she hoped for the very least topless—Luka had his arms around her. She jumped from where she lays, a bed in the middle of a room she did not recognize, and turn to find another reason to freak out:

It wasn't the seventeen year old soft-spoken boy she was expecting to see. It was a man, a full grown man—

"Ah shit—sorry, Marinette, I fell asleep." The man sat up on the bed, messing with his dark hair a little bit and rubbed his face awake. Droopy eyes caught her stare and turned concerned.

"You… okay?"

No, Marinette wanted to scream. Yes, she recognized the man as the grown up version of Luka and if that's the case then she might have caught in Fluff's accidental magic and oh, she wanted to puke.

"Ijustneedtogotothebathroom" She spewed a little bit too fast, The man's—Luka—eyes gone wide for a second before chuckling. Marinette immediately turned around when she sensed that he was going to get up from the bed. Though when he picked discarded clothes on the floor near the bed, exactly next to her, she sighed in relief that he was only missing his top.

She jumped when he kissed her cheek from behind her, making her tilt her neck to peek at him walking towards one of the doors (that Marinette just realized exists) while putting his head through his clothes. Before he disappeared behind the door however, he turned to her with a smile. "I'll see myself out then. Sorry again for staying. See you later,"

She watched his retreating back until he was gone and the door closed. Within seconds of his absence, Marinette immediately scrambled to open the other door, across the one Luka just went through, thankfully finding the bathroom on her first try.

What she saw in the mirror took her breath away for a full minute. That's how she will grow in a few years. More prominent curves, fuller lips, longer hair framing her face… She looked amazing… but it doesn't feel like her.

She immediately gripped the sink and stared at it. Breathing loudly to calm her nerves, even when the ringing in her ears never went away. 

She can fix this. She can. She just had to talk to the Fluff of this time—Like a cold water washes over her, she froze. She scrambled to reach for her earrings while shouting on top of her lungs for her kwami.

"Tikki? Tikki?!"

"Marinette?" She cried in relief to hear the chirping voice and immediately scooped the tiny red creature in her hands and nuzzled Tikki with her cheek.

"Oh god you're still here!" Marinette sighed amidst her tears.

"Of course I'm still here? Where would I go?"

"Tikki—you won't believe this—!" Her tear works immediately halted when she gasped and closed her mouth in contemplation. It just dawned on her that she's in the  _ future _ .

Currently, her curiosity about this whole future thing outweighed her desire to go back. No—she had to experience the road to reach this point, right? She couldn't possibly skipped a decade then risk trying to live in the future where she doesn't know a single thing about.

For instance, how she ended up in a bed with THE grown up Luka. Of course she realized that there is always a plausibility that she wouldn't be with Adrien, but she hadn't even had time to accept  _ that _ hard truth.

Also, for her, this had not happened, yet. She knew messing with time has a lot of consequences—yet if this was alternate reality like Chat Blanc (she shudders) this shouldn't affect her  _ own _ future, right?

As if sensing her contradictory thoughts, Tikki floated right in front of the bridge of her nose and tapped it. Marinette's focus zeroed to the kwami of creation.

"What is it that you're going to say?"

"Ah, yeah." Tikki watched as her owner bit her lips. "I'm Marinette—but I'm fourteen years old Marinette not… how old I am in this time?"

"Twenty seven." The kwami replied simply, gesturing her nubs around.

"I'VE SKIPPED THIRTEEN YEARS?" Marinette grabbed her head because her mind started ringing in full force. "I had to go back to my time, Tikki! This is a disaster—why am I sleeping with Luka?"

For some reason, the kwami sighed at her. Tikki gestured for a half-empty glass on a side table. Marinette reached for it and drank the water inside, but she was still overwhelmed. "What about Adrien?"

"He was your boyfriend for a time…" Marinette choked on air. Thank god she had swallowed the water before Tikki sprung that on her. 

"I guess it's complicated now." The kwami finishes, catching her owner struggling to breath. "Oh no, Marinette!" Tikki zapped towards a wall long window, that turned out to be a door to the outside.


	3. Balcony

When she can't feel any oxygen coming in the midst of her panic, she followed her kwami outside (gee, it's very typical of her to have a balcony connected to her room, like some kind of her own sanctuary, a safe place, she thinks). The cold of the night slapped her bare skin and seeped through her bones, but instantly it made Marinette relaxed. 

"You know, when I said _he_ , I was talking about Luka, not Adrien," Tikki floats near her, the kwami nubs gently patted her cheek.

Marinette stared at her kwami. "So we never dated! We never broke up! Phew! You scared me there, Tikki." Really! She had gone into a panic attack just with the thought of her giving up on Adrien. Past Tikki is right, she needed to sort out her priorities—but when she thought about it, she felt bad for Luka.

"Marinette?"

"Uh, yeah sorry. You know me… I would overreact to anything related to Adrien." She apologized, tapping her jaw with a finger. Tikki shook her head in an amused way.

"The thing is, you met Adrien daily Marinette." The kwami started, ignoring her _I DO?!_ "He's your boss now at Gabriel."

She worked at Gabriel. "I worked at Gabriel!" Wow. Her future might not be so bad after all. 

She could feel her curiosity started to build up. If she wasn't supposed to be here, Bunnix should have burrowed herself in front of Marinette by this point, right? But she hadn't. And this made Marinette concerned. She has mixed feelings about being in the future—She needs to talk to Tikki about going back as soon as possible, knowing the probability that maybe she wouldn't get saved by Bunnix this time around.

"Yeah, and you're very professional!" As the kwami exclaimed this, Marinette caught sight of a person leaping on the roofs, few buildings away from her. If not for her eyes' adaptive nature to darkness since being a superhero, she might not be able to spot the figure blending in with the color of the night sky.

"Tikki! Hide!"

Marinette waved her hands at the silhouette.

She froze upon his arrival. Twenty something Chat Noir is breathtaking. His costume had not changed at all, but it accommodates the features of a full grown man. Obviously he was taller, almost towering when compared to her, and his lean body is packed with muscles.

"Marinette?" The difference and familiarity in his voice snapped her out of her daze. "You… wanted to talk to me?" He inquired slowly, leaning against her railings, some kind of uncertainty displayed on his face.

Marinette frowned at that. "Well yeah, but now I suddenly not sure what to ask you,"

"Are you in trouble?"

"No—"

"Well, okay." He stared at her for a full second. "I'll be going now—"

"Wait!" Marinette caught his tail, but she hadn't had to yank it because he turned to her again. "Can I…" why is it so hard to say? Was it because their last—that she remembered—arguments? Surely, it was solved by now.

"I… don't feel like being alone tonight. Would you—Would you mind staying here for a bit?"

Chat Noir looks perplexed. Then he smiled softly, with a hint of sadness that Marinette doesn't like when it's on his face. He reminded her of another blond haired boy—a man now, for sure—whose mask was as evident as the sun to her, at least.

He didn't answer but he moved a bit closer as he stayed leaning on the railings, watching the sky.

"So uh… you were patrolling?"

Trust her to break the silence with her awkwardness.

"Not really, I just feel like going out tonight, considering what day it is."

Marinette blankly stared at him.

"You don't remember…?" She shook her head at the _Cat Man_ whose face showed nothing but amazement at her ignorance. Marinette would be annoyed if he made fun of her for not knowing something, but Chat wasn't like that.

He twisted his head around and reached for a flower he immediately picked from one of her pots. She pouted at him, offended that he dared to ruin her (future) plants, but he ignored her. "Happy one year, Marinette." he offered the flower to her.

Marinette shouldn't be shocked to find her heartbeat quickened by the gesture, because it always happened every single time Chat does something sweet. But she did anyway, because her heart is a traitor. Yet, her mind quickly came up with the perfect response.

"...Chat. I'm twenty seven."

Dead silence swept as they stood there. The black clad superhero dumbfoundedly stared at her and she stubbornly made an eye contact with him.

Then.

Chat broke in a laughter so hard that he had to bend down, holding his stomach with his other hand. She could always trust her partner to get the very old joke. She smiled at his antics and the joke, even if it wasn't as funny to her, while taking the flower she recognized as daffodil from Chat's extended hand.

_New Beginnings._

"I knew that if someone could know what a flower means, it would be you." 

Sure. But what does this mean?

As if hearing her thoughts, Chat quietly added in a tone that Marinette can not comprehend, "It's been a year since our team defeated Hawkmoth."


	4. Blush

"Tikki? You're there?" She whisper-shouted into the room, mindful of the figure that just leaped off her balcony.

After Chat Noir refreshed _her_ memory about what happened a year ago, her whole body went cold. The temperature of the night suddenly affected her differently after she unconsciously did the math in her mind. She has been weaving intricate timeline with new information as her basis.

The Kwami swim through the air in front of her, surfacing from one of the indoor potted plants.

"Where is the miraculous box? I need to go back A.S.A.P.!" Marinette urgently gestured to herself.

"Why?"

"I might have just learned information in this timeline that could jeopardize my future!" She hissed back. Tikki stared at her in contemplation before nodding.

"Yeah, maybe it's for the best." The tiny god then turned away from her, chirping with excitement. "Come on, let me show you!"

Marinette was led to the door that Luka leaves through earlier, uncovering an open-plan living room. It even had a workstation that had what she recognized as a modern sewing machine, and across them was a little kitchenette with extra hidden space, near what she guessed as the main entrance.

Tikki hovered near the hidden space of the kitchen, and she realized it's a small room—almost a nook with how small it is—that has a washing machine and food stashes stored on the hanging shelf above it.

"In the laundry room?" She asked, tone doubtful. It almost feels like Tikki was playing a trick on her. But the Kwami only shrugged with her tiny shoulders, pointing to a jar behind her.

As she reaches for it, Tikki responded, "Yeah, your future self thought that, if someone might guess where Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the new _it_ designer, would hide her precious possessions, it would be the closet in her bedroom or near her home workstation. But no one would guess the _pantry_."

"Huh. _I_ thought this through," Marinette quipped, surprised to find the Miraculous capsule hidden amongst preserved foods. She didn't dwell on the fact that she's a designer—even if it did make her heart soar with pride that at least one of her dreams came true.

"Too thorough, you mean."

Marinette cocked her eyebrow at the obvious jab to her over-reactive nature by the Kwami. Not taking the words to heart, she brought the capsule down to the floor and kneeled by it and began to open the hatches.

At first, she wasn't alarmed by the lack of magical accessories inside, until the last hatches were pulled, she realized that there's only one remaining.

"Where… where are the rest of the Miraculous?" Marinette asked, hands trembling in slight fear, not taking her eyes away from the seemingly fine Peacock Miraculous. She knew there's a story of how _she_ finally had the brooch back—but to her specifically—it looks ominous.

"You handed them out to their respective owners."

Marinette blinked owlishly at that. Tikki tilted her tiny head at her.

"Even the Butterfly…?! Wait—Don't elaborate on that. The Miraculous that I needed…" She stared at the white colored hatch. _Oh_. "It's already in Alix's possession isn't it?" She said, looking up to her Kwami.

"Your situation had to do something with Fluff?"

"That's right. Now I just had to contact Alix…"

"Marinette… Alix is on a work trip to New York for two weeks. She called you—the future you—this morning."

Marinette froze up at the information.

"Oh my god I'm a dead man."

* * *

Waking up the next morning maybe the worst thing that ever happened to Marinette. She had to relive some of last night's shock—she had to accept with a grain of salt that she wasn't able to revert her situation as fast as she wanted.

And now she had to pretend that everything was fine. 

As she wasn't aware of the current trend, Marinette picked an outfit that she liked and formal enough to wear for office work from her future self's closet. With the help of Tikki, she navigated herself around the apartment, adjusting to the place and asking a lot of questions about how _she_ usually styled _her_ hair and what kind of make up _she_ usually dons. 

Until a thought brought her out of her reverie while she chews on her breakfast.

"Tikki… how do I commute to work?"

"Oh, yeah," she chuckled with a mouthful of cookies, then the tiny god absentmindedly added, "Adrien will pick you up."

"Wait—Adrien?"

* * *

To call what happened last night was _weird_ would be an understatement. The whole balcony talk brought him back to their _College_ days, a mundane thing he didn't know he would miss like crazy. Maybe it's because he had treasured his friendship with Marinette way back to the first day of school. Though, the woman changed drastically since then.

Whatever happened to Marinette for the past decade has always been a mystery to their circle of friends. She had been distant after the Miracle Queen fiasco, everyone assumed that she had developed a trauma and deep fear for Hawkmoth (half of Paris did) But Adrien wasn't convinced.

Marinette was the centre of goodness, she's always been so kind and ready to help. He might be the "sunshine child" of the class to see things rather positively all the time, but Marintte **is** the literal sun. And when her demeanor flipped like a switch, one day, the class went off balance.

His thoughts were interrupted at the sight of Luka on the sidewalk, obviously heading to Marinette's apartment building. Gripping the wheel too tight, he almost missed the intersection where he should have turned. What's wrong with him?

Maybe he was jealous of Luka. The older man had been in a relationship with Marinette once, when they were in _Lycee_. And apparently it wasn't going nowhere—according to Luka—and it's an open secret they were very casual in whatever type of relationship they have. It's like, even Luka was kept at an arm's length by the designer.

No one had been able to decipher Marinette's mystery, not even who they thought would be able to, Luka, and maybe, that's what made Adrien jealous. No, not jealous. Angry. Luka had a chance to help Marinette, but even he wasn't able to. Not because he can not, Adrien thought bitterly, it's because Marinette doesn't want to be helped.

Marinette reminded him of Ladybug. A lot.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he parked on the sidewalk next to the apartment and texted the designer. When he looked up from his phone, he saw Luka waving from outside the vehicle. Adrien left the car.

"Hey man. Long time no see." Adrien reached for Luka and hugged the older man, patting his back.

"States tours. You know how it is." They stepped back, Luka's kind eyes squinted as he smiled toothily at Adrien, the latter can't help but glance at the Snake Miraculous, disguised as another metallic studded bracelet, dangling from the guitarist' arm. He didn't notice the takeaway in his other arm until Luka leaned on his car.

"Coffee for Marinette?"

"Yeah. Girl got a rough night." Adrien hummed as a response, pretending he was surprised to hear that. "You're going to pick her up everyday?"

"Just until her probation is over, actually. I'm glad she accepted my offer." Adrien caught Luka's slight frown at his answer, but before he had a chance to question it, Marinette exited the building.

"Luka…?"

"Hey." The man in question walked his way towards Marinette and kissed her cheek. Adrien ducked his head. "Here's a coffee for you. Have a nice day at work."

Marinette hesitantly took the cup from the man and hurriedly turned towards Adrien. The woman immediately stopped on her tracks. Somehow she looked at him exactly like how she looked at Chat last night; As if she had never met him before and was starstruck. 

Has Marinette connected the dots after she saw him last night? No. It's not that easy to compromise his identity—there's magic protecting it. Mustering up his best model smile, he greeted, "Good morning, Marinette. Ready for work?" He opened the passenger door.

"Mood gorning."

And just like last night, dead silence swept between them. Even Luka who hung back a few steps behind Marinette looked surprised at her word-fail. Adrien, however, can not hold back his snort, snapping the designer out of whatever daze she was in.

"I-I mean, GOOD MORNING. And yes, yes. I'm ready for work. Let's go." Marinette climbed inside the car and Adrien turned his attention towards Luka after he closed the door.

"See you later man!" But Luka kept staring at the pavement, eyes unfocused. "Luka?" Adrien tried once again, and thankfully the man responded this time.

"Ah, yeah," Luka smiled at Adrien as he walked to the driver side.

"See you later!"

"See you… later."

* * *

Adrien would have let silence fill the space between them if it was any other day. His thoughts wander to the fact that their friends had let Marinette's mystery rest, and gave her all the space that she needed; And for years he had followed everyone's footsteps. But after what happened last night and the change in her behavior, he couldn't shake off the nagging feeling of curiosity. He watched her closely.

The way Marinette squirmed in her seat made it obvious for him that she also doesn't find silence comforting. She was struggling to say something and he wasn't going to let himself assume anything.

"So," he breathed, waiting for a second, fully expecting Marinette to jump on her seat like she was, back in _College_ , and she _did_. "We have a board meeting today before lunch."

The designer doesn't say anything back. Shit, has he gone too far? But this was still inside her conversation topic range, right? He had known her for years—she hadn't made much effort in small talk unless it was work related.

"Are you okay, Marinette? You seemed… off." She looked like a mouse—Ha!—being unsure and anxious in a new place. He hadn't seen her like this since her first day of internship and that was years ago; when his father had made it his mission to be very intimidating to everyone. 

"You're perf—I'm perfectly fine." Adrien almost exhaled in relief. Stuttering Marinette is better than silent Marinette.

"It's okay to be nervous." He assured her. "I was also nervous at my first board meeting. But then I realized how boring it was." He chuckled to himself, then caught her staring at him in his peripheral vision before she turned to pay attention to the road. He was uneasy at her lack of response, but the smile he caught on her face calmed him down.

Thankfully, the drive between her apartment building and Gabriel office took only fifteen minutes top; Adrien didn't want her to feel trapped with him.

* * *

When they arrived at _Gabriel_ office building, Marinette hadn't had the time to appreciate how it looks; they were immediately ushered to an elevator by the security. She was so thankful to have Adrien literally guiding her—because she has zero clue what to do, where to go and such—he even escorted her to her—apparently their—floor. 

They stopped in front of a hallway with a lone receptionist desk and a set of lounge chairs where a young woman had stood up at the nearing of  their presence. 

Adrien turned gracefully on his shiny dress shoes. "I'll leave you in Mia's good hands, alright?" Marinette nodded, fighting down her blush. Seemed to be satisfied with her response, Adrien smiled, "See you at the meeting!"

She couldn't help but watch the man walk further into the hallway, until he disappeared behind the next room, thinking about the boy she had a crush on. Her thoughts however were interrupted by the voice coming from beside her.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng." Oh yeah. Mia. Whoever is this… she could ask, right? Quick, Marinette. Come up with a lie.

"Uhh… I had a bit of a headache that made me feel less informed these days—what did you do again?"

"I'm your Personal Assistant…?"

"...huh. Alright. Umm can you lay down my schedule for today?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After burning myself out drawing for #adrinetteapril on instagram, I told myself I need sometime to take a good care of my mental health. I need to stop being perfectionist or holding myself in a certain standard that would tire myself out but HA—human is such a contradictory beings--since I've got anxiety if I don't create, I wrote this. sighhhhh The purpose of me doing this is so that I have something I could always work on—and I want to unlearn the habit of pushing myself too hard (yet I do anyway)
> 
> The thing is that I've got carried away writing Adrien's perspective and planting plot-seeds here and there. And I have the habit to be overly descriptive. But I like it that way, it's a sign that I enjoy doing the process and doesn't think too much about the result. I just need to cut it down and stop after writing out the main idea. lmao.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you soon


	5. Friendship

She hadn't been paying attention after everything that she had found out in the meeting. She was thankful for Adrien's offer to drive her home at the end of the day (that she spent freaking out)—because she wasn't sure she's on her right mind to explore future Paris, as fun as it sounds.

She was sure it was a mistake at first, when she read the documents on her work desk, thinking whoever sent it mistook her room with Adrien's; Then the board meeting commenced and it dawned on her, after they kept mentioning her name along with Adrien's, that it's actually the truth.

Her mind is reeling. 

Apparently she wasn't just a designer, she is THE Head Designer; _Gabriel_ is currently under a major change in their structure since Adrien's demand for a complete rebrand, and SHE is… in probation to become the co-CEO with Adrien.

That's why her office is next to his. That's why she has her own Personal Assistant!

Now, Marinette doesn't really know what CEO actually entails—but she gathers, it has to be a big deal, because they entrust her with so many big decisions.

Marinette doesn't know what to think anymore.

She arrived at the apartment feeling as if her spirit had been sucked out of her, overwhelmed by everything. She was glad she only had to attend a meeting today. Apparently, according to Mia, she would have to go down to the designer floor to assess some of the design for the soon-to-be-released Fall-Winter collection sometime that week.

She dreaded it. 

* * *

Dinner was uneventful; She ate while Tikki explained how to use _her_ smartphone. Marinette doesn’t want to snoop around _her_ own mail, texts and messenger inboxes, so she opted to look up for some current fashion trends. The moon quickly replaced the sun, it’s light penetrating through her wall-height windows. She contemplated spending the remaining time on the balcony, her heart hoped to see a familiar figure tonight.

But he doesn’t show up that night, nor the next two.

* * *

Marinette doesn’t really want to wake up, even when Tikki nudged her chin with her best. Living day to day as twenty seven years old Marinette has taken a toll on her, and it’s only her fourth day in. Every night she waited for Chat Noir to make an appearance and she kept getting disappointed; While the day she spent learning what her job actually was, without making it obvious that she had no idea at all.

When she finally stepped outside, Marinette found Adrien in his usual spot on the sidewalk, leaning on his car. And like the past couple of days, she greeted him warmly.

“Morning, Adrien.”

The man grinned. “Morning, Marinette!” but she wasn’t fooled by his smile. There is something bothering Adrien, and if they were fourteen, Marinette would have hesitated to ask about it—but they have been friends for more than ten years, right? (And it's easier for her to accept the fact that he's practically a stranger to her, not _The_ Adrien from her time) So she settled herself inside the car waiting until they're on the road.

“What's wrong?" She simply asked, nerves filling her being, but she kept her eyes forward, not wanting to get lost in his mesmerizing eyes and start stammering around the man.

Adrien turned his head to face her for a second (Marinette didn't acknowledge this, even if she caught him in her peripheral vision) before eyeing back the road. "I'm worried," he started.

"What about?"

"The Fall-Winter collection. I just feel like, as our 'farewell _Gabriel_ ' collection, it lacks… flair."

Marinette doesn't respond right away. Honestly, from the brief glance she had seen on the designs, she felt it too—yet she couldn't muster the confidence to review them, the knowledge of not having the same experience as her older self stopped her.

"You know this already; It would either make, or break us." The way Adrien said it made Marinette heart clench. 

"I'll head down to the design floor today then," She found herself saying. Her eyes didn't leave the dashboard, but she still could feel Adrien's smile from her side.

Damn her and her desire to help her friend.

* * *

She still dreaded it. No matter how much she wanted to not be, she still feels nervous about the whole thing. If she was asked to review a design back in her time, she would do it in a heartbeat because a) she knows her stuff and the current trend, and b) she had an excuse to do that for the sake of learning.

But today she had to do it as a _Professional_ , which she isn't, or at least not yet.

She could feel a panic sprout out from deep within her. 

Not wanting to worry Mia, her PA working in a lounge chair inside the office, she told the woman she's going out for fresh air. Marinette doesn't hesitate on bolting out of the office building to a nearby alley, scooping a concerned Tikki from her purse.

"Take a deep breath, Marinette…"

Breathing exercises with the Kwami has become a regular occurrence since she was appointed as The Guardian, and she hated it. Tikki floated and tucked herself to Marinette's cheek to hug her as she calmed down.

"Maybe you need familiarity? How about Alya? Do you want to call Alya?"

Marinette nodded at the tiny god. "Talking to Alya… sounds good."


	6. Don't tell me what to do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _adds another chapter like it's business as usual, even when it's literally the end of May and I'm still at the first week of Marichat May_

Alya didn't answer her calls. Retaining positive thoughts, Marinette opened the text app and started typing, asking if Alya could meet her at some place in an hour.

**Alya:** Where?

She glanced around before her eyes landed on a small restaurant across the way. She shared the location to her best friend, finally let out a breath she's been holding.

* * *

It seems that Alya is running late, so Marinette ordered her meal first and a set of appetizers for both of them, racking her brain as deep as she could to determine Alya's preferences. If her best friend refused the appetizer, she could always take it away for a snack in the office.

Honestly, Marinette couldn't wait to see how grown up Alya would look like. She focused on the fact that meeting her friend excites her, and put her worries in the back of her mind.

"Marinette?"

A voice made her shift her body around on the chair to find a woman with medium length hair, the brown tresses swept back behind a set of navy colored two piece suits that she matched with a white shirt. Alya looked beautiful.

Marinette hugged her. Alya hesitated to even put her arms around her and she realized it must be weird for her to have Marinette suddenly break down in her arms. "I'm sorry, I just missed you—" She stepped back, letting the bespectacled woman go. "Let's sit and have our lunch! Sorry I went and ordered first—I even got you an appetizer!"

Alya only stared at her. Marinette can't help but feel conscious about herself. "What is it…?"

"Marinette… Do you—do you have a concussion? Or—or amnesia?" Alya stuttered out.

No, but telling her that her best friend's fourteen years old mind (soul?) travelled through time to be in her future self's body wouldn't be as believable as getting her memory wiped as a traumatic event repercussion. Though, glancing at a very familiar chain digging around Alya's neck, the pendant being obscured by her shirt, Marinette deemed that Alya would believe her this time around.

Instead of answering, Marinette sat back down on the chair, getting lost in her thoughts. She doesn't know what to tell Alya. It's incredible for the woman to immediately realize something is wrong with her. Somehow, the woman in question decided to sit across her. Folding both of her arms neatly around herself, avoiding Marinette's eyes.

"I thought it was a joke, you know," she started. "I thought—you wouldn't be here. But I hoped, I hoped anyway—and GOD! I miss you, Marinette." Alya confessed, finally looking up to meet her eyes. Marinette frowned.

"Why wouldn't you believe I want to meet you?"

"We hadn't talked to each other since the Lila incident…"

They hadn't talked? For how long? But Alya is her best friend! Marinette can not imagine herself dropping Alya out of the blue—though her thoughts came to a screeching halt. "Lila incident…?"

"Oops.” Alya’s smile looked every bit of apologetic as she slumped in her seat. “I'm sorry if I reminded you of her—it would be the best to you if you just repress the memories."

Even if she was intrigued, Marinette doesn’t want to think about Lila at all. So she nodded in agreement. Alya’s soft smile never left her face. The woman unfolded her arms and reached out to tap her fingers on the desk; their appetizers untouched.

"I have always jumped into conclusions—maybe that's why we clicked before." Alya began. "But you're always been the clear-headed one between us, except when it comes to Adrien." She grinned but then ducked her head, as if feeling guilty.

“I guess, my hasty judgement created a rift between us. ”

Marinette absorbed her words. Feeling empty at the fact that she was estranged from her own best friend in the future. “B-but you must have seen me a lot, right? We still live in the same city after all?”

"I saw you once, in a New Year's Eve party—a couple of years ago? I don’t have the courage to try reaching out—I’m afraid you won’t forgive me,"

She leaned back in her chair. Grateful for Alya’s presence, but the overwhelming feeling began to flood back. A hand wrapped around her own on top of the desk. “You’re okay?” The woman carried concern behind her glasses, her thumbs rubbed the back of Marinette’s own hand. Staring at their connected limbs, Marinette nodded.

“I'm really confused with everything that has been going on in my life right now…”

“I’ve heard.” Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Adrien told us you’ve finally accepted his offer to become co-CEO with him,”

“I’m overwhelmed, Alya.”

“You’re stressing out. Typical you—sorry,” Marinette feels bad every time Alya refrained from being as friendly as they were before. “No, it’s okay.”

Alya hummed. “I’ve read articles that revealed how stress could cause memory loss”

“Yeah,” she could only agree with the woman’s theory.

“Sorry, Marinette. Did I cross the line?” Marinette stared at Alya, noting how pained she was looking. 

"You're right, Alya. I lost some of my memories, I have no idea how—All I remember is my life over ten years ago…" The woman across from her has her eyes widened at Marinette’s confession. "I don't want to be a bother… that’s why I hadn’t said anything to anyone.”

“But I trust you before—" She eyed the chain hanging on to Alya’s neck before staring right into the brunette’s eyes. "—I know that I can trust you again."

“I think, deep down, I already forgiven you for everything that happened between us.”

Within a split second, Marinette found herself being embraced by warmth and her vision was disrupted by brown and copper. Alya had jumped out of her seat to hug her.

* * *

Talking to Alya about almost everything had become second nature—at least in her time—so when she found herself wasn't able to unveil the storms inside her, Marinette was not sure what to do. Though, the woman Alya had become has been so much more attuned to her surroundings, she managed to spot Marinette's hesitation.

“I don’t know what caused that frown on your face Mari, but whatever it is in your way I know you will get past it. If anyone knows how to do it, that would be you.” The bespectacled woman smiled softly at her. “You are resourceful, M."

Marinette could only stare at her. "You… think so?" 

"Come one, Marinette. You've been featured in fashion magazines alongside Gabriel and titled the most promising young designer yet. You're a bad bitch and you should own it."

Marinette found herself huffing a laugh at Alya’s choice of words.

"Come on, you can say it." Alya grinned back.

"I'm a bad bitch, you can't tell me what to do,"

"Okay, you got me there." Alya laughs before adapting a much somber expression. "I'm glad I had a chance to talk to you, even if it was a one-time thing only…"

The fourteen years old bit her lip. "What if it wasn't, Alya?"

"Memory loss like yours isn’t permanent, in no time you will remember how god awful I am—"

"Now you just sounded pitiful," She interjected, not liking the future Alya’s faltering faith in their friendship. Though, she’s glad Alya is comfortable enough to not get upset at her interruption, and snorted out her own response. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound manipulative I swear,"

"I know. And I don't believe I'm _that_ shallow Alya."

"You're right." Alya shrugged, and gestured to the food in front of them. Marinette nodded.

They settled into a pleasant silence that allows her to dip in her mind.

Marinette wonders, really, how bad her life actually is. At first glance, everything is amazing. She reached her dreams, but at what cost? Every time she gained something, she might have lost another. Determined to fix this, Marinette picked up her eating utensils, wanting to have every bit of energy to face the rest of the day.


	7. Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette proposed her idea to Adrien and Gabriel's board members.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing a formal meeting is a challenge because I have zero idea about running a small bussiness let alone managing a company.

When he heard that Marinette hadn’t set her feet anywhere near or on the designer floor for more than two days, Adrien grew concerned, of course. She might not be as cheery as when they were in school, like age had mellowed most of his friends, but the woman loves overseeing the process, especially working on the couture dresses with their expert seamstress. She always has this small contented smile on her face during and after she worked directly with their collections.

Adrien has always noticed Marinette. 

And he notices that this is the first time in months that she can not be found eating her lunch inside of her office. Her PA—Mia—greeted him awkwardly, like she’s also lost of what to do, when a rap of footsteps drawing near from behind him.

“A… uhm—Adrien?” he turned around at the call of his name. Marinette stepped slowly into the room.

“Hey,” Adrien smiled in reflex. “Where were you?”

“I was in the cafe nearby—had lunch with Alya.” Adrien can feel his eyebrows both raised without his control. He didn’t know the ex-besties were finally on speaking terms, let alone reconciled to have a meal together. Marinette, possibly assuming things based on his silent response, looked alarmed, her face ashen with dread. Adrien almost wanted to take her in his arms to calm her down when she squawked out, “Did—did I miss something? Did I miss a meeting?”

“No, no.” Adrien chuckled at her immediate body-sag-of-relief. “I’m here because...” He contemplated for a bit, before choosing going straight to the point. "I’ve heard from the fourth floor, you hadn't been in the Designer space since Monday? What happened, Marinette?"

* * *

"It's just… I don't feel right." 

That was an understatement. 

Marinette’s current worst fear is to be looked up to when she hadn’t earned it. She knew full well what her title as Head Designer entails. Even after speaking with Alya, she was still devising a plan to delay whatever is coming. She wasn’t expecting Adrien to be there waiting alongside Mia—her supposed PA—when she returns. The weight of the situation came back in full force.

She’s in the future, stuck in her future body, stuck living as her future self and she still has not found a way to go back. Marinette’s head started to spin, before Adrien’s voice brought her focus back.

"They need your input—so do I—before we bring in our presentation to the board this afternoon though.” Adrien stated, his left hand snuck around his body, supporting his right hand that he used to caress his nonexistent beard. “How about, I tag along? Or do you find my presence there would be more stressful?”

Marinette squashed down her nerves, trying to think clearly. If she’s going to be honest to herself, maybe some kind of familiarity would be more comforting than none at all. A soft pats coming from inside her purse on her thigh confirmed her thought. Mustering up any courage left in her, she gulped down a bile piling up in her mouth. 

If she's going to pretend to be her future self then she better be doing her best. Adrien needs her.

“We shall head down, then.”

* * *

It wasn’t as bad as she had expected. 

When they reached the floor, Adrien led her and Mia through a big double door. If the lobby and office hallway of _Gabriel_ are beautiful, the designer room is a mess. But a gorgeous mess that is filled with big desks and scattered sewing mannequins with in-progress clothes pinned on them. She noticed that most stations—or the designer work area is already vacant—safe for a couple of people lounging around. Marinette was glad that no one came up and started speaking to her as if they had known each other for years—and to be fair that might very well happen and Marinette dreaded that scenario too—but she felt absolutely safe with Adrien near.

Her eyes immediately zeroed in on some of the works that she suspected weren't part of the collection.

“Oh, this looks amazing.” She breathed to herself, reaching to inspect the seams on the princess line dress. A man nearby walked forward as she circled the piece of clothing. 

“Hi Maurice,” Marinette heard Adrien’s greeting and the man greeted back. They exchanged a couple of words about something that she didn’t catch, she’s too focused on the feel of this dress presented before her. 

The silhouette was already eye catching, emphasized on the bottom half of the body. Deep color flowed right into the rest of the bodice, creating some kind of waterfall-like effect on the back, that would sit on the lumbar area if a model wore it. But… "The sequins on the hips disrupted the unity of the whole dress," she mumbled absentmindedly.

"You've told me that, Marinette, but I don't think it matters anyway, it's not part of the pre-selected, remember?" The man—Maurice—said, breaking Marinette away from her reverie, suddenly aware of the two people engaged in a conversation with Adrien and apparently her.

“Paula—” The woman beside him waved a small _hi_ “—had everyone home early as per your instruction last week—” Maurice continued, gesturing to Adrien. “People from the old management loves you a lot by the way,”

“Ahahah,” Marinette noted how Adrien’s jaw clenched as he spew the forced out chuckle. He frowned before sighing, “Let’s just not go there...”

“Marinette?” The woman, Paula, called out to her, shifting her attention from Adrien to the older woman who gracefully stepped near. Marinette smiled at her. “I put the finished pre-selected in one hanging rack, if you want to see all of them together right now.”

She’s already here, so why not, right? “Umm, sure!”

Paula then directed her to the back of the room, where a few racks positioned next to each other. She stopped in front of one that Marinette suspected to be the pre-selected. The earthy, saturated autumn colored pieces blend in right with the more versatile ones. Marinette reached and examined one by one.

As part of one collection, they look amazing, but as a piece… they look rather… too average. As if they didn’t _speak_ to her, like an amazing artwork with _Gabriel_ brand attached to them should have. Her mind reeled back to the dress Maurice was working on.

"Have we digitized all these?"

“Well yeah, aren’t these the one you brought to the meeting last week?”

“How about the rest… the one that wasn’t in the pre-selected?”

"Not all of them, but some were improvised a little bit, might need to be photographed after it finishes for documentation."

"...hm.” Marinette stared at the shiny wooden floor. “I think we need to revisit every piece we’ve worked on this project—We need to digitize all of it." Paula looks unsure but she nodded anyway. "I'm going to need all of them in one folder to go over it. Even ones that were still with the seamstresses." Now instead of uncertainty, the woman had this bewildered stare trained on her.

Marinette hoped that her impulsive decision wasn't something that is too much out of character of her. Though she didn't linger on that thought, too focused on planning how things will work.

* * *

“...more than half of the pre-selected ones are ready. You might need to contact your models now,” Adrien was half listening to Maurice when Marinette finally emerges from the storage room stepping behind Paula. Adrien nodded at the statement his conversation partner uttered (hoping that Maurice didn't take offense at his quick dismissal) agreeing that it’s better to send in their schedule now than later.

He immediately addressed his Head Designer. "Shall we get back upstairs?" Marinette looked surprised for a moment before she nodded solemnly, and turned sideways to the Wardrobe Supervisor.

"Please send them as soon as possible, Ms. Paula." Everyone raised an eyebrow (or two) at the use of suffix, but eventually the woman nodded slowly towards Marinette.

Adrien immediately got intrigued by her words. What is she up to? He wondered as they walked back to the elevator. The moment his curiosity became unbearable and the ball of his feet cannot withstand his fidgeting pressure, he had asked such and was met with;

"I want to help," she bit her bottom lip, "You'll see soon, but I do not guarantee that it'll be successful."

Like everytime she does it, pouring her kindness towards everyone, Adrien's heart feels like it might burst. He feels like his face contorted to a rubber than just made of meat, as he feels the muscles on it stretched so wide, his cheeks hurt.

The elevator door opens and he stepped outside first, turning to Marinette, ignoring her PA in the background.

"It doesn't really have to be, you know. I'm already grateful with the effort that you put in. We've worked together for years and I am always happy to have you by my side."

Call him a coward, but to be vulnerable like that, it's scary. He hadn't say things like that to his friends for years. Adrien't didn't waste his time and took off walking as fast as possible back to his office.

* * *

She had Mia on the run to print everything Paula had sent, after breaking out of her daze following Adrien's ethereal words. Marinette then spent two hours rearranging pictures of the digitized visual references on the floor. She stared at the collage of printed papers.

Would she dare propose her crazy idea? They only have a few weeks before the initial Fall-Winter collection should be released. She was overseeing the design right? But she could design some pieces herself. But, will it live up to the older Marinette's quality? Will it lives up to _Gabriel_ brand's standard?

She shook her head. Marinette had already told Adrien she would help him, and she wouldn't take it back. She stood up, so sudden to the point that she had not realized that Mia was hovering behind her, Marinette almost stepped on the woman's toes if it hadn't been her quickly scooted back.

"Sorry Ms. Mia…"

"Oh no, _I am_ sorry Miss!" She looked downright fearful and Marinette frowned at that. Dismissing the odd reaction of the younger-older woman, she turned back to her collages.

* * *

That late afternoon meeting was a bit intense. Marinette had laid out the visual data of the collection to sort through with the board members (who she quickly learns, doesn't know much about fashion) They were easily satisfied because it looked like the usual _Gabriel'_ s but Adrien does not agree.

She watched the debate quietly, looking back and forth between her co-CEO and the board members. And each time a particular board member opened their mouth, the respect that Marinette has for these business people chipped away ounces by ounces until she felt the need to close her eyes and take a deep breath. 

The board member keep arguing that Adrien still new to the scene, and, not so subtly, referred to his science and teaching degree for his lack of business in-depth, which, even to Marinette, a hyper aware of her own ignorance as a fourteen years old that stuck in an adult body, call it bullshit. But she kept quiet through the whole ordeal. 

“What about you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?” A voice to her left brought her out of her reverie. She looks up to the man, fumbling to respond before he beats her to it. “Surely this collection is enough to satisfy _Gabriel_ ’s loyal patron,”

“I...” Marinette turned her head towards Adrien, standing there poker faced. Gulping down the bile in her throat, she ehem-ed, “I am with Adr—Mr. Agreste.” The whole room grew quiet. She took that opportunity to stand up, using Adrien’s laptop as her weapon of choice, she opened her presentation. Not giving any chance for the board members to interrupt.

* * *

For the first time, Adrien saw some of the old Marinette's passion shone through. He hadn't seen Marinette be that optimistic in years—she always did things by the book, following the restriction of _Gabriel_ style design and rarely mentioned new ideas that's almost outside of the box. 

Sometimes, the thought of Marinette being afraid arrived in his head. Though, he doesn’t know exactly what made her scared. She seemed to be so full of life before. He watched as she animatedly moved from each designs, proving that it should be added and sometimes replacing some designs which she deemed too “typical” for _Gabriel_. She finished with a speech about the importance of quality to attract, which Adrien surmised, to be some kind of her idea for Value Proposition.

"With all due respect, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, even if this collection managed to mesmerize new people, there is no way to foretell that it would sell as good.” A board member who sat near where Adrien is standing spoke up. “We should revert back to our previous chosen pieces instead, since the style wasn't as explorative, the production costs wouldn't inflate, that makes the potential revenue loss still fall within our safety net."

He could see more than half of the table nodded in agreement and Adrien sighed internally. He walked up to where Marinette stands and stopped to gaze at the whole table, pulling his best impression of Gabriel's infamous cold stare. 

Dismissing sudden loathe of himself, Adrien announces, "You may not agree, but I'm still the biggest shareholder of the company, so I could easily make the call. And I would." He had never wanted to use his ace card against these people ever, because it might bite him back in the rear, but he needed to hold his ground against them in this matter. Just this once. " _Gabriel_ was built with the intention to be something different, challenging. Why not ending it with the same tenacity? It would catch people's attention. It would entice future investors."

"If we succeed, the rebranding transition would be so smooth and our Spring-Summer debut should put us back on the list despite the name change."

He finishes. He let his eyes swipe to gauge the room. Many of the members looked convinced (maybe he shouldn't have said something that sounded like a promise, but it already happened, he can not take it back) only few left with frowns and displeased-neutral expressions.

The meeting ended with most members being on-board (see what he did there? ha!) with Marinette's idea. But instead of looking completely happy like Adrien had expected, she looked even more tense than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *peeks from behind this dusty doc* hi. I want to do a life update but personally it's too much to write it all. So, longstory short: After May I just got very busy taking care of my late dad who eventually passed away due to breakbone in August, then I'm busy drawing for two zines and then I got a job in October, and now I'm on a break, with my contract extension heavily dependent on the projects' pitching.... so... with some free time I want to try finishing this fic.
> 
> So thank you for anyone who clicked this fic and read it this far. I'm very grateful, I hope you're doing great and have a good day.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thank you for taking the time to check and read this fic! I hope you do enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed ~~imagining~~ writing it :') I need to say a few things though.
> 
> This would be my first time doing _month-long_ challenge and I had to point out that English is not my native, so there will be weird phrases and possibly many grammar mistakes, but I hope the story that I wanted to tell will convey through. I will also not going to be very consistent in uploading, it wouldn't follow the order of the prompt list and it wouldn't be the best story out there but I will try my very hardest to finish this _month-long_ challenge. ALSO! This won't always contain Marichat, but the story itself revolves around them.
> 
> Again, thank you for reading this so far ❤️


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